Explosive-effusive volcanic eruption transitions caused by sintering

Wadsworth, Fabian B.; Llewellin, Edward W.; Vasseur, Jérémie; Gardner, James E.; Tuffen, Hugh

doi:10.1126/sciadv.aba7940

Explosive-effusive volcanic eruption transitions caused by sintering

Wadsworth, Fabian B.; Llewellin, Edward W.; Vasseur, Jérémie; Gardner, James E.; Tuffen, Hugh

Authors

Dr Fabian Wadsworth fabian.b.wadsworth@durham.ac.uk
Associate Professor

Professor Edward Llewellin ed.llewellin@durham.ac.uk
Professor

Jérémie Vasseur

James E. Gardner

Hugh Tuffen

Abstract

Silicic volcanic activity has long been framed as either violently explosive or gently effusive. However, recent observations demonstrate that explosive and effusive behavior can occur simultaneously. Here, we propose that rhyolitic magma feeding subaerial eruptions generally fragments during ascent through the upper crust and that effusive eruptions result from conduit blockage and sintering of the pyroclastic products of deeper cryptic fragmentation. Our proposal is supported by (i) rhyolitic lavas are volatile depleted; (ii) textural evidence supports a pyroclastic origin for effusive products; (iii) numerical models show that small ash particles ≲10−5 m can diffusively degas, stick, and sinter to low porosity, in the time available between fragmentation and the surface; and (iv) inferred ascent rates from both explosive and apparently effusive eruptions can overlap. Our model reconciles previously paradoxical observations and offers a new framework in which to evaluate physical, numerical, and geochemical models of Earth’s most violent volcanic eruptions.

Citation

Wadsworth, F. B., Llewellin, E. W., Vasseur, J., Gardner, J. E., & Tuffen, H. (2020). Explosive-effusive volcanic eruption transitions caused by sintering. Science Advances, 6(39), Article eaba7940. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aba7940

Journal Article Type	Article
Acceptance Date	Jul 22, 2020
Publication Date	2020-09
Deposit Date	Oct 7, 2020
Publicly Available Date	Oct 7, 2020
Journal	Science Advances
Publisher	American Association for the Advancement of Science
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	6
Issue	39
Article Number	eaba7940
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aba7940

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Copyright © 2020 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S.Government Works. Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial License 4.0 (CC BY-NC).